Ethanol Blog
Todd Neeley DTN Staff Reporter

Tuesday 02/09/10
Bailout Blend: E15 bad for Your Engine?

AAA Club of New York has apparently already made up its mind about whether the use of E15 in standard vehicles is good for motorists.

The club is taking an online poll asking whether E15 is a good idea.

AAA leads off the poll by first offering its opinion of E15.

"How would you feel about a fuel additive that could cost you more money and screw up your engine? If the ethanol industry has its way, that's just what you might get," AAA New York said in a statement on its website.

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering a controversial request from the ethanol industry to increase the required level of ethanol in gas from 10 to 15 percent to help meet renewable fuel goals," the statement said. "Requiring the higher blend could bail out a financially troubled ethanol industry, but at what cost to consumers?"

AAA goes on to say that a higher ethanol blend "could seriously damage cars built before 2001 by corroding rubber parts and dislodging residue that could result in catastrophic engine damage. The more ethanol in the gas, the greater the chance for problems. And—there's no guarantee that it's safe for cars built after 2001 -- it's just an educated guess that the EPA is testing on 12 car models. If you drive an older vehicle, you better hope yours is among them."

(AAA New York, February 2010)

(http://www.aaany.com/…)

DTN: Back in October the EPA announced that it was leaning toward approving the use of E15 in vehicles 2001 and newer. However, EPA was waiting for the results of numerous studies underway and was likely to put off a decision on E15 for sometime around June. Even when EPA approved the use of E10 in standard vehicles, the level of testing didn't even come close to looking at the possible effects of every vehicle in existence. Tests that have been done to this point by EPA have found nothing out of ordinary when it comes to E15. Consumer concerns about E15 could be alleviated by making blender pumps available across the country. Blender pumps allow motorists to use a wide variety of blends, including gasoline without ethanol. (Todd Neeley)
Posted at 10:43AM CST 02/09/10 by Todd Neeley
Comments (8)
The only person I know that is still a member of AAA is my 86 year old mother-in-law. Is this their idea of marketing and promotion for membership to the uniformed? My family has run 6 different non-ffv pre-91 era vehicles on E20 for 5 years now with no negative effect to any of them.
Posted by Phil Younger at 10:55AM CST 02/09/10
I'm up to almost 9 years on a 1992 Toyota 4x4 using about E50. 7 and 1/2 years on E30 in a 1995 Ford Aspire. A little over a year on a 2000 Buick LeSabre using E30. Can't believe E15 is having all this negative publicity.
Posted by Martin Tjossem at 11:57AM CST 02/09/10
I cannot imagine AAA's poll will be of much account with the kind of lead in the poll got. Pollsters have to be very careful with the wording of a question and the wording on this poll renders it useless.
Posted by THOMAS BUTZOW at 12:10PM CST 02/09/10
Hey, maybe E15 is ok for your engine, but what EPA (and the engine manufacturers) is equally concerned about are the TAILPIPE EMISSIONS. There is some evidence that catalytic converters run hotter with ethanol blends, and so may not last as long, and thereby increase emissions from older vehicles. EPA has had very strict rules on how much pollution can come out of tailpipes, so they have to look very closely at this. There are over 200 million gasoline vehicles on the road today. Even if maybe only 1% of them have compatibility issues with ethanol blends, that's 2 million upset owners, and probably a bunch of lawsuits, so you can understand why it's important to look at this carefully.
Posted by john laufenberg at 5:24PM CST 02/09/10
I'm kind of wondering why those of us that have had problems with ethanol in our fuel haven't spoken up? I'm sure I've replaced fuel pumps and rebuilt carburators in old trucks because they weren't compatible with the alcohol. I've also replaced injectors in a 1990 car that I bought brand new..specifically because of the corrosive effect of ethanol on certain components. This car ran exclusively on gasohol for the first 34000 miles...and the injectors effectively shorted out. I wasn't aware there was that many problems with it until I talked to a mechanic with over 30 years experience..and he said they were doing a lot of work on cars because of it. Do you think he complained....they get paid piece rate..and the more work they get the more they make. ...I'm almost sure that the newer cars and trucks won't have problems with the newer fuel...but if you happen to be driving a 25 year old car...I'd most certainly buy a AAA membership...'cause you're going to need a tow eventually.
Posted by Dave Watson at 5:54PM CST 02/09/10
I personally have run e10 in my 1979 chevy pickup with 215,000 miles on it since 1988 without a hitch. We've run e10 in lawnmowers, weed eaters, etc also without any problems. I understand supporting american raised products aren't on top of the priority list, but maybe they should be. Apparently it's cheaper to import millions of barrells of oil, instead of just replacing a couple catalytic converters/injectors Dave. We need to be more self sufficent as a country instead of depending on foreign imports, and using e15 is a good start to that. I'd rather send profits to the hardworking farmers in the US then over to the middle east where we have no idea where that money is being used.
Posted by Unknown at 8:25PM CST 02/09/10
I have a 2001 ford f-350 with a V10, it has always had a minimum of E10 blend and alot of E30 blend in its 98000 miles. I have had no problems what so ever. I also have 2 older carburated pickups and 2 carburated grain trucks that have had E10 blend in since they started selling it in MN back in 19?. I have never had any more issues with these trucks now than before they used E10. The 2 grain trucks are 1967 models. If something should have issues it should be them. They might sit idle for 6 months at a time. We used to have more problems because of the lead in the gas than we do with ethanol but as I remember there was a big argument that they would fall apart in very shart order without that to. I guess they were wrong. The vehicles that are going to have the most problems are the ones with poor maintaince historys and generaly poor condition and these shouldn't be on the road anyway. I think it is time to get into the new century people its been 10 years now! I have 2 blender pumps within 6 miles of my home they are awesome because I dont have to blend my own any more. If government doesn't get with the program and support american made products(ethanol, livestock, cars ect) We should be teaching our kids chinese in school instead of english and spanish because that is were it is all going to end up being produced! If people thought food got expensive in 08 just wait to see what happens then. Maybe this country deserves to starve if it cant get its act toghether.
Posted by JEFFREY MATHIASON at 8:03AM CST 02/10/10
If a car made in 1990 wasn't compatible with E10 then it was the manufacturers fault. They had 10 years to find out their problems by then. They more than likely sold a vehicle in Brazil that had to run on a much higher level. If an injector "shorted out" it is not fuel related. Stuck or corroded I would believe. The 15% is a maximum blend level not a requirement. If it is so bad for boats and small engines then don't buy it there. Why would you pay road tax on off road fuel anyway?
Posted by DEAN ZIMMERMAN at 9:53AM CST 02/11/10
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